Mike Bennett writesFriday iPod/MP3 Shuffle—Happy Birthday Dave Gregory Edition

Today we pay tribute to one of the great supporting players in music history, Dave Gregory of XTC. The soft-spoken gent joined the Swindon post-punk band before the recording of its commercial breakthrough album, Drums & Wires. Gregory replaced keyboardist Barry Andrews, who fit the hyper sound of the first two XTC LPs, but needed to find an outlet for his own songs. This transition improved the band, as two guitars were better suited for where XTC was going. Both Gregory and Andy Partridge are excellent lead guitarists, and as XTC gravitated to more ’60s inspired territory, Gregory was the ideal guitarist, as his hobby is recording painstaking recreations of classic ’60s tunes. Unfortunately, after the band’s strike against Virgin Records, he left during the recording of Apple Venus, Volume 1, due to musical differences. But he is a known gentleman who has appeared as a sideman for others, including Aimee Mann. He even corresponded with Chicago’s very own Tributosaurus before they did their first XTC night. Let’s pay tribute to Dave by grabbing your iPod or MP3 player, hitting shuffle and sharing the first 10 songs that come up.

1. The Human Expression — Optical Sound (Nuggets): I can’t tell you anything about this band, other than this song made the cut on the great 4-disc Nuggets box set. This is a really good moody slab of psychedelic rock, with lots of oddball guitar playing. For what was surely a low budget recording, the production is fairly inventive.
2. David Bowie — The Man Who Sold The World (The Man Who Sold The World): There’s a reason this is an oft-covered song, recorded by everyone from Lulu to Nirvana. The opening guitar line, with it’s vaguely Eastern fell is cool enough, but the verses pulse with mystery, and then the ascending melody in the bridge and chorus is unforgettable and flows right back into that lead guitar line. Classic song.
3. Laibach — Get Back (Let It Be): The Slovenian band that wraps itself in fascist imagery is certainly responsible for many wonderful covers. This comes from their rerecording of nearly the entire Let It Be album by The Beatles (for some reason, they didn’t do the title cut). This has the military style drumming, industrial electronics and guttural vocals that make Laibach stand out. Fun cover.
4. Carl Perkins — Your True Love (Original Sun Classics): While Perkins wasn’t quite at the level of the true greats of early rock ‘n’ roll, he wasn’t far off. This is just a solid rockabilly number, really just a country tune with a swinging beat.
5. Doug Paisley — What I Saw (Constant Companion): This Canadian songwriter has rightfully drawn plaudits for his laid back, country tinged tunes. This is comfortable music that is on par with folks such as Ron Sexsmith and Nick Lowe. Paisley’s voice is smooth and warm, and he writes songs that are perfect for those qualities. This has a bit of a ’70s AM Gold feel to it — you could hear it along with America, Gordon Lightfoot and Neil Young back in the day.
6. Earle Mankey — Mau Mau (Earle Mankey): I wish the original guitarist for Sparks had more releases than two EPs. Both EPs reveal a sweet sense of humor and a gift for crafting happy, clever pop tunes. This is kind of a bubblegummy number with an inventive use of percussion and a really large chorus.
7. Mary Wells — Bye Bye Baby (Beg, Scream and Shout): Another tune from a great Rhino Records’ box set. This is the lady behind the Motown smash “My Guy”. This track showcases a rawer, more gospel inspired soul singer. This is a catchy tune, but bluesier than the normal Motown sound. Mary Wells could sure sing.
8. The Blue Aeroplanes — Weightless (Swagger): The Aeroplanes were an acquired taste. The music was fairly comforting, especially around the time of this, their U.S. major label debut. They played a solo brand of jangle rock that with a bit of a Velvet Underground influence. Maybe more than a bit. On top of this, their lead singer Gerard Manley Hopkins didn’t so much sing as recite his lyrics in a dramatic fashion. This sounds potentially insufferable, but they make it work. This is a slow dramatic song that builds up to a real guitar freak out in the middle.
9. Pet Shop Boys — Jack The Lad (Alternative): The Pet Shop Boys’ first outtakes and b-sides compilation showed just how many great songs they have (as their second such set, the recently released Format, confirms). This is a nice electro/retro disco pop song that would have fit in well on any of their early albums, but for some reason, didn’t to Neil and Chris.
10. Southern Culture On The Skids — Camel Walk (Dirt Track Date): This Southern variant on The Cramps’ sleazy psychobilly was not as consistent and much sillier. I think this song represents their Zenith, a catchy as hell mid-tempo twang fest which is about a guy and a dominatrix who is preventing him from eating a Little Debbie oatmeal pie. The main twang guitar line is a gigantic unto itself and the drumming is so creative. This song got a bit of a boost when it was used in the end credits of the Ben Stiller move Flirting With Disaster. Great stuff.